Editing Avro Lancaster (section)

===Overview===
[[File:The Royal Air Force in Britain, 29 September 1942 TR197.jpg|thumb|Three 44 Squadron Avro Lancaster B.Is in 1942]]
The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engined [[Strategic bomber#World War II|strategic bomber]] that was used as the RAF's principal heavy bomber during the latter half of the Second World War. The typical aircraft was powered by an arrangement of four wing-mounted [[Rolls-Royce Merlin]] piston engines, each of which drove a {{cvt|13|ft|m}} diameter [[de Havilland]] Hydromatic three-bladed [[propeller]]. While not optimal, the Lancaster was capable of flying the return journey home on only two operational engines, along with very limited distances on a single running engine.<ref name="goul garb 4"/> Aviation authors Brian Goulding and M. Garbett have claimed that experienced Lancaster pilots were often able to out-manoeuver Luftwaffe fighters.<ref name="goul garb 6"/> It possessed largely favourable flying characteristics, having been described by Goulding and Garbett as being: "a near-perfect flying machine, fast for its size and very smooth...such a delightfully easy aeroplane to fly...there are instances of Lancasters having been looped and barrel-rolled, both intentionally and otherwise".<ref name="goul garb 6">Goulding and Garbett 1966, p. 6.</ref>

The Lancaster benefited from a structure that possessed considerable strength and durability, which had been intentionally designed to maximise structural strength-per-weight; this resulted in the Lancaster being capable of withstanding some levels of damage resulting from attacks by hostile [[interceptor aircraft]] and ground-based [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft batteries]].<ref name="goul garb 4"/> However, during the first year of the type's career, some instances of structural failures were encountered on Lancaster B.Is and a number of aircraft were lost in accidents as a result of the design limitations having been greatly exceeded.<ref name="goul garb 6"/> Compared with other contemporary aircraft, the Lancaster was not an easy aircraft to escape from as its escape hatch was only {{cvt|22|x|26.5|in|cm}} in size; in a Halifax or Stirling (which both had an escape hatch {{cvt|2|in|cm}} wider), 25 per cent of downed aircrew bailed out successfully, and in American bombers (albeit in daylight raids) it was as high as a 50 per cent success rate while only 15 per cent of the Lancaster crew were able to bail out.<ref>Iveson 2009, p. 221.</ref>
[[File:Lancaster landing gear retraction and extension video.webm|thumb|Video of the Lancaster landing gear retraction and extension, ex-situ.]]
The Lancaster uses a mid-wing [[Cantilever#Aircraft|cantilever]] [[monoplane]] configuration. The wing is constructed from five separate main sections while the fuselage is likewise composed of five sections. Aside from a few elements, such as the [[fabric]]-covered [[aileron]]s, the Lancaster's oval-shaped fuselage had an all-metal covering.<ref name="goul garb 5">Goulding and Garbett 1966, p. 5.</ref> All of the wing and fuselage sections were manufactured separately, during which they were outfitted with all of the required equipment in advance of final assembly being performed, as a measure intended to accelerate the rate of production. The Lancaster was equipped with a retractable main [[landing gear|undercarriage]] and fixed tailwheel; the [[hydraulics|hydraulically]]-actuated main landing gear raised rearwards into recesses within the inner engine nacelles.<ref name="janes">Bridgman 1988, pp. 105–106.</ref> The distinctive tail unit of the aircraft was outfitted with a large twin elliptical fins and [[rudder]] arrangement.<ref name="goul garb 6"/>

Like any aeroplane, the Lancaster was not viceless in its handling. In a dive, it had a tendency to go more deeply into the dive as speed increased. Not all aeroplanes did this, for example, the Halifax tended to get increasingly tail-heavy as speed increased, and thus fly itself out of the dive.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bingham |title=Halifax - Second to none |publisher=Airlife |pages=71}}</ref> Furthermore, the Lancaster suffered longitudinal instability at speeds above {{cvt|200|mph}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bingham |title=Halifax - Second to none |publisher=Airlife |pages=74}}</ref>